I Woke Up In A Completely Different World!

Steven: "What do you want from me?"

Lilith: "I want all of you!"

She lunged towards me and used her shadows to throw me against the wall. I was winded, but I was still able to run towards her, a quick thrust from my sword, barely managing to graze her. Every time I got close, her shadows would push me further away. I started to use both magic and sword. Repeatedly casting Slashed Winds as I closed in on her and swinging my blade. The house was starting to look as if it was torn by a war. She would dance around, laughing as she avoided my strikes. She truly was a demon, enjoying every bit of it. Though, this felt different than before. I felt as if I was being toyed with rather than the murderous intent I felt the first time at the construction site. I slowed down, having expended most of my energy in just a few short minutes.

Lilith: "What"s wrong, darling?"

As I ran towards her, I threw my sword. She barely dodges it as I came from behind punching her and knocking her down. She used her shadows to send me flying through the ceiling, landing in the hallway on the second floor. Everything was blurry, bits of wood had gotten into my eye and I couldn"t stand myself back up. In haste, I crawled into one of the nearby rooms and hid. A desperate attempt to hide from her. I leaned against the door and checked myself for any injuries, the wound on my leg has opened up even more. As the sound of footsteps neared, I grabbed the k.n.o.b and pushed myself back up.

Lilith: "Steven, are you in here?"

I slowly limped towards the window, attempting to escape. The window opened halfway before getting stuck, making noise as I struggled with it. I was so focused on escape that Lilith was able to sneak up behind me.

Lilith: "Where are you going?"

She grabbed me from behind and slams me on the floor, pinning me in place. She then wraps her hands around my neck and proceeds to strangle me. I tried to struggle, but it was vain, her shadows kept me in place. My vision started to fade with each moment. In desperation, I muttered the only words I could think of.

Steven: "He–help!"

Lilith: "You"re not getting away this time."

I drifted away, as Lilith had the last laugh. The pain of being tossed around like a rag doll faded. I was unconscious, but I could hear Lilith"s voice, it sounded like she was chanting something in a different language. I felt a short rush of excitement before feeling suspended. I no longer knew if I was still alive or finally dead. Strangely, I was indifferent about it. It felt like this for hours before I actually came to, in a pool of my blood. I saw that I was no longer injured and a sweet taste filled my mouth, not able to tell if it was from a fruit or something as I sucked on it. I was in my underwear, looking around the room. It didn"t look like any of the rooms in the house, was I taken somewhere else? I stood up and saw that I was on top of a pentagram and quickly moved away from it. It was dark, the only light was coming from the moon coming through a skylight. I scoured the room and found a bag with my clothes in them and quickly put them on. I searched a desk when I found a book emitting a deep red light. It looked old and had a lock, keeping me from opening and reading it. I put the book in the bag and continued searching. I didn"t find anything useful and went for the door. Slowly opening it, I saw that I was in some warehouse. At least, that"s what it looked like to me. I searched the other nearby rooms for anything useful. What I found shocked me, Livia was tied to shackles on the wall. I had forgotten about her in my desperation to survive. I went to her and released her, she then slumped into my arms, breathing softly.

Steven: "Livia! Wake up, we have to get out of here!"

She was still unresponsive, but I was still relieved to see her. I set her against the wall to search the room. In my search, I found a sword lying on a table. It wasn"t my magic sword, Nikitas, but I guess it"s better than nothing. I holstered the sword and decided to escape with Livia. With a fireman"s carry, we left the room and searched for the exit. After a while, I arrived at the front entrance and opened it. Outside, I realized that we were in the port, just outside of the city walls. The same one when I had arrived from Feles Isle. I looked towards the ocean and saw the sun starting to rise. Time really does fly, how long were we here anyways? The workers have barely arrived, I chose to avoid them and made my way up towards the city. I arrived at the gates, the guards weren"t nearby and took the opportunity to dash across the gate. Rushing towards my home, it was the closest and safest place I can think of. When I arrived, I kicked the door in, scaring Kanna and her mother, Yuuna.

Yuuna: "Intruder!"

Steven: "No, it"s me!"

Kanna: "Steven? Where have you been? We were worried when you didn"t show up last night. Wait, is that blood?! And is that Livia?!"

Steven: "I"ll explain in a minute, do you know how to tell if someone has been cursed?"

Kanna: "Mom knows how."

Yuuna: "Just lay her on the couch and I"ll get started."

Steven: "You"re not worried about getting blood on your couch?"

Yuuna: "Don"t worry about it, just lay her down."

I laid Livia on the couch and collapsed onto the floor, exhausted from carrying her. With the little strength I had, I went over to the other couch and sat down. Kanna with a serious look, came up to me. She"s not going to let this one go without an explanation.

Kanna: "Now, tell me what happened."

Steven: "We were attacked by a demon."

Kanna: "What? Tell me everything, from the beginning. Tell me why you"re covered in blood."

Steven: "Which do you want first?"

Kanna: "I"m serious, Steven."

I went on about how I made a deal with the Headmaster. That instead of getting suspended, I would go and search for Lilith and how we were ambushed at the estate. Now that I think about it, were we supposed to fight Lilith? I swear, the more that happens in this world, the less I seem to know.

Kanna: "Anything else?"

Steven: "Oh, I also found this."

I went into my bag and showed Kanna the mysterious book that was in the warehouse. She looked at it and took a step back, uneased by the red light emitting from it.

Kanna: "What is that?"

Steven: "I don"t know, I found it in the warehouse. It"s locked too, I can"t even read it."

Kanna: "Maybe the headmaster knows."

Steven: "Maybe, I don"t even know what to do anymore."

Kanna: "Go clean yourself and come back, you might know what to do when you come back."

It sounded like a good idea, I made my way to the bathroom and showered. Letting the hot water run off my head as I was lost in thought. Worried if Livia would be alright. No matter how I think about it, it was my fault. Lilith was after me, yet I let Livia come along. Though, my only regret was not being able to protect her. The only thing I can do now is take the book over to the Headmaster and see what he has to say. I finished washing up and turned off the water, leaping out of the tub. There was no way I"m wearing my clothes now. They were torn and covered in blood. Looks like I"m going back to my old shirt and jeans.

Steven: "It"s better than nothing."

I went back towards Yuuna, who was now watching over Livia. Kanna, placing a blanket over her, as to keep her from getting too cold.

Steven: "Will she be alright?"

Yuuna "Yes, thankfully. She"s just resting now. She was cursed, but it wasn"t anything life threatening."

Steven: "That"s good."

Everything has been like a nightmare. So I was relieved to hear actual good news. I told Kanna that I planned to go take the book over to the Headmaster. He might have an idea on opening it.

Steven: "I"m going to the academy, and taking the book to the Headmaster."

Kanna: "Alright, don"t go anywhere else."

Steven: "You"re not coming?"

Kanna: "I"m watching over Livia until you come back."

Yuuna: "I have to open the shop, I can"t keep coming back here to check on her."

Steven: "Thank you, I"ll be back as soon as I can."

With the bag in hand, I headed straight towards the academy. A woodworker from down the street was already working on fixing the door. I continued, still racking my head over what happened to Livia. I was about halfway there when I ran into Malin and his group, who wanted to settle the score from last time.

Malin: "Hey, round-ears! Where do you think you"re going?"

I kept walking, hoping they would let up. I was stopped dead in my tracks when Brenner, from behind, grabbed the collar of my shirt.

Brenner: "What are you wearing anyways, round-ears?"

Malin: "We still have a score to settle."

Steven: "Really? You don"t say, then why don"t you save it until after school."

Malin: "Right here, right now."

Great, just what I needed, and he"s actually serious too. I don"t want to deal with this right now. The quickest way that came to mind was another bluff, it worked last time, so it should work again, right?

Steven: "That"s fine, I needed to let loose anyways."

A drew the sword and pointed it at Malin, who back away when I did so. I inched towards them as they kept backing up.

Brenner: "Let"s get the h.e.l.l out of here, his eyes are glowing!"

It worked again. As soon as Brenner said that, they all scattered. What did he mean by my eyes glowing? I covered my eyes with my hand and there wasn"t any light I could see other than from the sun. Well, maybe it was just an excuse so they can run. After holstering my sword, I made the rest of the way to the academy without incident. Arriving at the school gates, n.o.body was around, cla.s.ses were already in session. I continued to the Headmaster"s office, being met by a couple of students already waiting outside.

Bored Student: "We"ve been here all morning, when is he going to let us in?"

Impatient Student: "I"m about to leave, I"m getting suspended anyways."

Steven: "Is he in there?"

Bored Student: "Yeah, but he hasn"t let anyone in."

Impatient Student: "Probably because Livia isn"t here yet."

I"m the only one at school who actually knows what happened to Livia, and it was a real punch in the gut.

Steven: "Well, I"m going in there anyways."

Bored Student: "Heh, good luck with that."

I went through the door and saw the Headmaster sitting in his chair, reading a rather large book. He notices me and puts it to the side, waving me in. Great, how do I tell him what happened to Livia?

Headmaster: "You"re here, but where"s Livia."

Steven: "She"s, uh, at my home, resting."

Headmaster: "Resting? What happened?"

Steven: "We were attacked by Lilith at the estate."

Headmaster: "So you couldn"t protect Livia?"

Steven: "She fell unconscious after she was cursed."

Headmaster: "And Lilith?"

Steven: "She got away after taking us to the port just outside the city."

Headmaster: "Where in the port?"

Steven: "A warehouse."

Headmaster: "Why did she take you there?"

Steven: "I have no idea, I woke up covered in blood and on top of a pentagram."

Headmaster: "A pentagram, and what about Livia?"

Steven: "Shackled to the wall, still unconscious."

He leaned backwards in his chair, likely thinking over what I told him. Then looked back at me, clasping his hands on the desk.

Headmaster: "Sounds like she tried using you both for ritual sacrifice. I"m surprised you actually got away. Did you find anything else in the warehouse?

Steven: "I found this."

I reached into the bag and showed him the book. He looked at it before chuckling as he fixes himself in his chair, seemingly in disbelief.

Headmaster: "I don"t believe it for a second."

Steven: "Is this book important? I grabbed it because it was emitting the light."

Headmaster: "Do you even know what you"re holding?"

Steven: "No, I actually don"t."

Headmaster: "Let me see it."

I handed him the book, he made direct eye contact with me when I did. It was weird and made me uncomfortable. He then carefully looked at the book, looking at the lock before trying to open it.

Headmaster: "I knew it, this is a Grimoire, books of great magic. Has anyone seen you with it?"

Steven: "Just Kanna and her mother."

Headmaster: "Good, did they know what it was?"

Steven: "No, what"s the big deal about it?"

Headmaster: "Well, it"s just that every high cla.s.s demon has one."

Steven: "What?!"

Headmaster: "If someone saw you with this, they would"ve ran straight to the guard."

I had stolen Lilith"s magic book. I couldn"t imagine the horrors of what she might do if she caught me. But why would a demon keep her magic in a book in the first place?

Steven: "Why keep it in a Grimoire?"

Headmaster: "They get their power from this, without it, they slowly lose their magic power."

Steven: "So if I take it away, then Lilith won"t be too much of a problem then, right?"

Headmaster: "You have to do that first."

Steven: "How hard can it be to hide her Grimoire?"

Headmaster: "They have an innate sense of where it"s at."

I was essentially a walking G.P.S. The more I heard, the less I wanted the have the book around. The Headmaster"s eyes started glowing a pale blue the longer he held the book.

Steven: "Your eyes are glowing."

Headmaster: "It"s a side effect, the light from the book is actually incredibly powerful magic power seeping from it."

Steven: "So it"s like radiation then?"

Headmaster: "Radiation? What"s that?"

That"s right, technology and science isn"t so advanced here in this world.

Steven: "Uh, I mean, is it dangerous?"

Headmaster: "No, your body is just reacting to the magic power coming from the book. It shouldn"t be dangerous."

I continued watching the headmaster in silence as he studied the book. Though, he was fixated on the lock and kept trying to break it open to no avail. I thought of pa.s.sing off the book to him and save me the trouble of having it around. The last thing I wanted was Lilith inside my home.

Headmaster: "If you"re willing, I can take the book off you. I believe that I"d be able to get the lock off and try to decipher it."

Steven: "Wouldn"t Lilith know where it"s at?"

Headmaster: "I"m confident enough to believe that I can conceal the book"s energy."

Steven: "Alright, I didn"t want it anyways."

He knew I didn"t want the book and used it to his advantage, it was like he read my mind. I didn"t know what he was going to do with it exactly, but I don"t have to worry about carrying a Grimoire around. I was already in a deep enough hole.

Headmaster: "It might be a while, you can go now, if you want."

Steven: "Where do I go? I don"t exactly have any cla.s.ses."

Headmaster: "Go home and watch over Livia, that"s your new task then. You can do it right?"

Steven: "Yes, Headmaster."

Headmaster: "Good, let the other students in on your way out."

I didn"t want to be at school after what happened. I was tired from everything that happened and the only thing in my mind was resting. There was the one student outside, the other was actually serious when he said he"d leave. I let him in and then made my way back home. Running into Cynthia, not too far from the gates, she was ditching cla.s.s.

Cynthia: "Steven, did you actually get suspended? You haven"t been around."

Steven: "Kanna didn"t tell you? I got switched over to Independent Studies."

Cynthia: "What"s it like?"

I can"t exactly tell her I was training to fight a demon. Something like that would definitely create some sort of controversy.

Steven: "Well, shouldn"t you be at the academy?"

Cynthia: "Nah, it got real boring and quiet after you left."

Steven: "Really?"

Cynthia: "Yeah, even Ms. Layne wants you back."

Steven: "Well, I miss you guys too."

Cynthia: "Aw, thanks."

Steven: "It"s nothi–"

Guard: "Halt, citizens!"

Cynthia: "Aw c.r.a.p, we were caught, run!"

Before I was able to say anything, Cynthia darted in the opposite direction. The guard quickly ran up to me and grabbed my arm, forcing me towards a wall.

Guard: "On the wall, now!"

Steven: "Easy, no need to get violent."

Guard: "Shut up! Were you ditching with that girl?"

Steven: "That girl? She told me she was a flower merchant."

Guard: "What about you, are you ditching?"

Steven: "I"m in Independent Studies, my doc.u.ments say so too."

Guard: "Let me see them, then."

My doc.u.ments are in my school bag back home. I never carried them because Livia would cover when a guard actually did stop us. Before the guard actually did arrest me, Cynthia came back. Trying to get the guard away from me.

Cynthia: "Hey Guard! Looking for me?"

She throws a can at the guard, angering him. He releases me and runs towards Cynthia, who was essentially running in circles, avoiding him. She"s actually braver than I had originally thought. I took advantage of the situation and ran off. Making a beeline to the front of my home. I tried catching my breath, when someone grabbed my shoulder.

Cynthia: "You run really fast, slow down next time, alright?"

She managed to get away from the guard too. Though, unlike me, she was perfectly fine. I should be grateful, she did save me from the guard after all.

Steven: "Wh–why"d you come back?"

Cynthia: "It kinda was my fault, and it didn"t feel right leaving you behind."

Steven: "Thanks, you did save me a lot of trouble there."

Cynthia: "You shouldn"t thank me."

Steven: "You want to come inside?"

Cynthia: "Isn"t this Kanna"s home?"

I had forgotten that no one knows that I lived with Kanna and her mother. It never came up in discussion, so I never had a reason to tell anyone.

Steven: "It"s a long story."

Cynthia: "I like stories."

Steven: "Fine, hurry up before the guard sees. I don"t want the door to get kicked in again."

The door was actually fixed when I arrived, I"m surprised they were able to fix it so fast. We entered and was greeted by Yuuna, who thought we were customers at first.

Yuuna: "Welcome to Yuuna"s Elixirs! Oh, Steven and… Cynthia?!"

Cynthia: "Hi, aunt Yuuna!"

Yuuna: "It"s been so long! Come here!"

Cynthia ran over to Yuuna and hugged her. They must be on really good terms with each other. Kanna came out wondering what all the noise was about, surprised to see Cynthia.

Kanna: "Cynthia!"

She ran over too and they did a group hug. It was nice seeing them get along, but I actually feel left out. I guess it doesn"t matter right now, Livia"s my main concern at the moment. She should still be in the back. I left Cynthia with them and went in the back. Livia was still resting quietly on the couch, the blood washed off her. The same can"t really be said for the couch though. The blood is really stained in there pretty good. Oh well, I"ll try and clean it off later. I sat down nearby, no longer wanting to move. I was finally able to rest, my legs, especially were relieved. Making myself comfortable as I closed my eyes, naively hoping everything will be better when I awake. Slowly, I drifted into my sleep, undisturbed.